If you've spent some time in downtown Edinburgh, with all its narrow streets lined with imposing grey-stone buildings, you might be ready for some open spaces and green parkland. Holyrood park, just outside the city center, is the place to head.

Arthur's Seat, covered in gorse, in Holyrood Park, photo by cyocum

If you've already traveled around in Edinburgh, you've already seen Holyrood's barren, cliff-faced crags, Arthur's Seat, dominating various scenic views. This impressive stronghold of nature rising out of the middle of the city is a great place to visit, especially if you won't be traveling on to the Highlands. This rocky oasis will give you a taste of Highlands wilderness right here in the city.

And this route will also pass by some of the most interesting buildings in town, along the Royal Mile on the way to the park. The only catch is that the route rises about 80 meters as it gently winds around the park, going up 2 peaks. If you can handle the climb, this is a wonderful run, and will reward you with some great vistas.

Start of the run, at Hunter Square, photo by Kaddele

The route will start right in the heart of town, at the corner of the High Street and Bridge Street, at Hunter Square. This is where High Street comes downhill from the castle in the stretch known as the Royal Mile, connecting the castle and Holyrood Palace.

Turn south, with the Bank Hotel on your right, and run straight down High Street, where it continues going downhill. You'll go past Cannongate on the left (where the street name itself changes to Cannongate) and the Storytelling Café. I love the ancient stone buildings that line the streets here, each one with its own unique character.

Cannongate houses, photo by rojabro

Soon you'll come to the tollbooth, with its stone clock-tower. Such fortified tollbooths were common in Scottish towns, where travelers had to pay tolls before entering town.

The tollbooth, photo by Andrew Batram

The scenic Cannongate Kirk (church) is right next to it.

Cannongate Kirk, photo by Dutch Simba

Keep running south, down the street until it ends at a roundabout. You'll see the gate into Holyrood Palace, the queen's official residence in Scotland. You can run up to the gate, but you can't get in. The grounds are open during the daytime to the the paying public. "Holyrood" is Scottish for "holy cross", named after a vision that Scottish King David had on the site.

Holyrood Palace, photo by Colin J. Campbell

The palace is built on the site of an 800-year-old abbey, whose ruins can still be found, right behind the palace.

Across the street, the large, futuristic building is the Scottish Parliament building. What a contrast...

The Scottish Parliament, photo by wok

Turn right at the roundabout, run past the front side of the Parliament, and follow the street as it zig-zags past the main palace entrance and then straight into Holyrood Park.

The park was once the palace grounds, rocky promontories left over from an ancient volcano. The entrance street leads straight towards the cliffs of Salisbury Crags, where it ends at a roundabout. From here, the whole park is ringed by the loop-road in front of you, called Queen's Drive, which we'll take all the way around.

The Salisbury Crags, photo by Jungleboy

Turn right on Queen's Drive and follow it as it gradually heads uphill, with the basalt crags to your left. There is a separate pedestrian path along the street. Soon, on the left side of the drive, you'll see a mown path through the lawn, parallel to the street, which you can take if you prefer it to the pavement.

The lawn path along Queen's Drive, photo by tigerweet

After passing another roundabout and going uphill, you'll see a big path going up the valley to the left, heading towards Arthur's Seat, that big rounded hilltop. Someday you might want to follow those paths through the countryside in the middle of the park. But this time, we'll stay on the gentler rise of Queen's Drive.

Holyrood Park road heading up past Arthur's Seat, photo by nexun chan

You'll need to switch to the right side of the road as it winds along the base of Arthur's Seat. First, it goes downhill a bit, then heads back uphill. There is a great view here towards the city and hills to the west.

View back towards the crags, photo by Tr1xx

When you come to Dunsapie Loch (lake) on the right side, you've reached the highest point of the run. This spot really has a highlands feeling, with the grassy hills rising off to the left, and the loch stretching picturesquely around the rocky peak on the right.

Eagle at Dunsapie Loch, photo by only alice

There are plenty of paths heading off in every direction: it's a very inviting place for cross-country runners (this is my kind of country!).

Now, running downhill, the vista over the coastline to the northeast opens up before you.

When you get to the northern end of the park, the road turns to the left at another little pond, St. Margaret's Loch. There is a picturesque chapel ruins on the hill behind it, St. Anthony's.

St. Anthony's chapel at sunset, photo by Adrian Hart

Now you just keep running along Queen's Drive until you get to the roundabout where we entered the park. You'll see Holyrood Palace and the abbey ruins off to the right.

Turn right at the roundabout, run past Parliament again and then turn left onto Cannongate once again, following the same route (uphill this time!) back to the start at Bridge Street.